Mint Crackle Cookies (Vegan)

I gave Daniel a taste of the dough as I was making these. His response: "What???" Then: "We are not serving those. We're keeping them." That about sums it up: these irresistible bite-sized beauties taste like rich chocolate (because that's what they are, mostly). We made them mint but you could leave that off or substitute a different liqueur. You can even serve them, unbaked, as truffles - no baking required!

Ingredients

4 oz baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup brown sugar

¼ cup coconut oil

1 tbsp brown flax

½ tsp mint extract

~2 tbsp hemp milk

½ cup almond flour

½ cup cocoa powder

pinch salt

1 tsp baking powder

¼ cup powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a large baking sheet. Melt baking chocolate over the stove or in the microwave. While it cools, mix coconut oil, hemp milk, mint extract, and sugar in a medium bowl. Grind flax in a coffee grinder and add to bowl; stir well. Add almond flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder and mix thoroughly. (Vegan doughs can sometimes take a while to equilibrate between wet and dry ingredients. Be patient; all the flour will be incorporated and you will end up with a remarkably soft dough.) Chill 1-2 hours if possible. Form 1-inch balls, roll in powdered sugar, place on sheet, and bake for 12-15 minutes. These do not spread at all if made with coconut oil and flax instead of traditional egg and butter. We realized this halfway through and flattened them with a spoon after ten minutes of baking, resulting in a lovely cracked texture. You can flatten them right at the start and they should turn out just fine. Allow to cool 2 minutes on baking sheet before removing to a rack. Try not to eat all of them on the spot.